True Frienemies
by shannerfly
Summary: When Sarah hears about a radio contest to meet Miley Cyrus, she jumps at the chance to fly out to California. Unfortunately, when you're in high school with irritating new girls and jealous cheerleaders, things don't always go as planned...
1. At The Beginning

Chapter 1: At the Beginning

"Why don't I have ANY CLOTHES??" Sarah grumbled as she flung blouse after sweater after tank top out of her closet and dresser. It was the first day of sophomore year, and she wanted her outfit to say "Look at me!" without seeming like she did it on purpose.

Sighing, she pushed her brown hair out of her face, grabbed her phone from off the side table, and dialed her best friend Shannon's number.

"Hellooo?"

"Shan! Are you ready for the first day?? Do you know what you're wearing?"

"Uh, no, sweetie, I haven't even rolled out of bed yet. "

"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? YOU NEED TO GET UP, DO YOUR HAIR, MAKEUP-"

"Inside voice, please. And you know I don't wear makeup."

"Whatever. You need to get up; we have to do our first day stakeout!"

"Fiiiine. Jeesh. You're lucky I'm so nice."

"Of course. Meet you at the spot. Love ya!"

Sarah hung up, then eyed herself in the mirror. She was nicely tanned from all those summer days spent at the beach, and she knew she looked cute.

"Why stress over what I'm wearing?" she thought. "I've got a great body- I'll look good in whatever I wear! Not to mention, I'm running late and I bet mom's coming up the stairs…"

Right on cue, there was a knock at her bedroom door. "Sarah?? You're gonna be late!"

"Coming, mom!" Sarah yelled. Eyeing the mess of clothes around her, she sighed, and began to sift through them, all the while thinking about the first day of her sophomore year.

--

Sarah made a beeline toward the old oak tree by the side of the school. Shannon was already there, leaning against the tree nonchalantly. Sarah could never figure out how Shannon always woke up later than she did, yet still managed to have enough time to look acceptably cute AND get to school before Sarah. She was black, so she didn't worry about tanning, because her skin was naturally light brown, and her dark brown hair, which she had curled and tied back with a ribbon, had reddish tints in it from all the time she had spent in the sun. When she saw Sarah she grinned.

"Hey Chatterbox," Shannon said, hugging her. "What's good?"

"The usual. Oh, except on the radio on the way over hear they said they're holding some kind of contest tomorrow. Something about Miley Cyrus. I'm gonna enter."

Shannon groaned. "I still don't see why you like that girl so much. She's just OK to me."

"Are you KIDDING? She's like my idol! My inspiration! My-"

"Your muse, and prime example of why you should follow your dreams. I know, I know. But you already sing way better than she can. You should set your standards a little higher… Who's that girl?" Shannon interrupted.

Sarah glanced over to where Shannon was looking. Standing not too far away was a black girl with short hair and glasses that she had never seen before. She was tiny- She definitely didn't look as if she should be in high school.

"These freshmen are getting shorter every year," Sarah said, giggling. "We didn't look so itty-bitty when WE were freshmen, right Sha- Shannon?"

Shannon had begun walking toward the girl. "She's all alone. I want to go talk to her."

Sarah grabbed her arm. "What about checking out cute GUYS? We're not freshies anymore! We're like… older women!"

Shannon burst out laughing. "Older women? We're 15! We're not even allowed to DRIVE yet!"

"Well, I still think cute guys should be a priority-"

"Did someone mention me?"

The girls turned around. Walking toward them was a guy, tall for being just a sophomore, with long-ish blonde hair and blue eyes. As he walked towards them, a couple of the girls he passed dissolved into giggles.

"Hi, Jake," Sarah greeted him. "No, nobody mentioned you. And don't make some lame joke about being one of the "cute guys" we were talking about, either."

Jake grinned, and the girls behind him burst into giggles again. Shannon shook her head. "How was tennis camp? And the beach house in Florida?"

"Show-off," Sarah coughed. Jake smirked at her.

"They were both great, thanks for asking, SHAN," he replied. "And how were the kids at summer camp?"

"They were fine," Shannon said absently. She was looking around. "That girl is gone."

"What girl?" Jake asked.

"Some freshie she felt sorry for," Sarah replied nonchalantly.

"I didn't feel sorry for her! She just looked all alone and I figured she could use a friend!"

"None of the sophomores were nice to us when WE were freshmen."

"That's different, we had each other."

"Yeah, whatever you say," Sarah winked, and moved to poke Shannon in the spot on her side that made her laugh like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Shannon dodged her.

"Whatever! Let's go inside, we have English first period," Shannon said, glaring at Sarah.

"Oh, do you have Ms. McClarkin?" Jake asked. "I have her too, I heard she's a real hard-ass."

"Thanks for the word of encouragement, Jakey," Sarah said sarcastically. "Let's just go get good seats."

She linked arms with Shannon, and they headed towards the double doors and into the start of sophomore year.


	2. Enter Naomi

**Chapter 2: Enter Naomi**

"Shannon Olson?"

"Here!" Shannon called brightly, smiling at Ms. McClarkin. The teacher's stony gaze remained unchanged.

"Told you so," Jake whispered from behind.

Just then, the classroom door opened, and the vice principal walked in. A short, familiar-looking girl came in behind her…

"It's that girl!" Shannon whispered. "The girl from outside! She must not be a freshman after all!"

"She's a sophomore?" Sarah said, frowning slightly. "She looks so small…"

"Class, I'd like to introduce to you Naomi Oliver. Naomi has come to our school as a sophomore, as all her junior high school teachers recommended she skip the 9th grade. I trust you will ALL make her feel welcome."

The vice principal glared at some girls who were sitting close to the window, giggling, probably making cracks on the girl's height and obvious smarts- In other words, they figured she was a short nerd. Shannon frowned at them.

"How rude," she muttered. Sarah shrugged as Naomi quietly took an empty seat.

"I hope you all read the assigned summer reading," Ms. McClarkin announced in her loud, squawking voice. Sarah thought she reminded her of the parrot from Aladdin. "You will be having your first test… Right now."

Murmurs of protest could be heard throughout the classroom, but Ms. McClarkin silenced them all with one look. Picking up what looked to Sarah like a ridiculously large pile of exam papers, she began to hand them out.

"You have 45 minutes to complete this exam. All the forms are different so don't bother trying to cheat. And-"

"Ms. McClarkin? We need an extra one."

The class turned and saw Naomi raising her hand. She had a big voice despite being a small person.

Ms. McClarkin looked over her glasses at Naomi. "You want to take the exam, Miss Oliver? I wouldn't expect that you've read "A Farewell to Arms"…

"Actually, I HAVE read it."

The class looked at Naomi in surprise. Shannon grinned.

"Impressive," she said.

"Are you looking for a study buddy?" Jake called out. The class broke into giggles.

"Quiet!" Ms. McClarkin snapped, and silence fell on the room again. "All right, Miss Oliver, you may take the exam. I warn you- If you take it I WILL be recording the grade you receive. Are you sure you know the story?"

Naomi nodded.

"Very well, then." Ms. McClarkin handed the exam to the first girl in Naomi's row to pass back. Naomi immediately began filling in answers. Shannon turned her dimpled grin toward Sarah.

"It's going to be an interesting year, don't you think?" She whispered cheerfully.

For once, Sarah stayed quiet and pretended to focus on her test. Sophomore year wasn't turning out to be like anything she expected.

--

"That test was AWFUL," Sarah cried as soon as she crashed her tray down on the lunch table. "I knew the answer to number seven, I KNEW it, but there were so many details and I didn't have enough time and I was totally freaking out and then that horrible teacher had to walk by and do that THING-"

"You know that was three periods ago, right? And what thing?" asked Shannon, frowning at the "food" on her own tray as she set it down.

"Yeah, I KNOW, but we haven't had a class together since then and I haven't had a chance to rant. You didn't see her? She walked by my desk, and then she kinda backed up and looked at my paper and she just shook her head and walked away. Like, THAT'S real encouraging, right? And then-"

"Hey, Motormouth."

The girls turned around and saw their friend from last year, Rita. Behind her was another friend of theirs, Kayla.

"Hey Potter freak!" Sarah called, grinning. "Hi Kayla. How was your summer?"

"Boring as hell," Rita replied, rolling her eyes and grabbing a chip from the bag that Shannon had just opened as she sat at the table.

"You're welcome," said Shannon, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Nice hair, Kay."

Kayla was sporting a white streak. "It's sexy, I know," she said, grinning. "Hey, Sarah, did you hear about the Miley Cyrus radio contest?"

"HELL YEAH!" Sarah yelled, causing a passing supervisor to frown at her disapprovingly. "I'm totally gonna try and meet her!"

"Yeah, I was just wondering, if you actually win could you take a message to Joe Jonas for me? I want him to know about his future wife."

Rita laughed through a mouthful of chips and pushed her red-brown hair out of her blue eyes. "Future wife my ass!"

Kayla glared at Rita, but before anybody could say anything else two guys walked up.

"Hey, ladies," Jake said smoothly, as he sat down. Sarah noticed a few girls at the next table looking over longingly.

Hey, Jake. Hi Seany!" Shannon said, smiling wide at the boy who had come over with Jake.

"Hi Shannon. Hi everybody," Sean said, smiling. Sean was a pretty nice guy, or, in Shannon's words, "a sweetie-pie." Shannon had known Sean since they were kids. He was like her brother.

"Did you guys see that new girl? The girl genius? You think she'll help me out in math class?" Sean asked, picking up a limp fry and studying it.

"If you mean, do we think she'll do your math homework for you for five dollars, the answer is no. Lazy." Sarah laughed.

"She's right there!" Shannon said suddenly."Hey Naomi! Over here!"

Naomi looked over to where Shannon was waving and began to walk over.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked Shannon.

"Um, asking her to sit with us," Shannon said, smiling as Naomi took the seat across from her. "Hi!"

Naomi smiled. She had a nice smile. "Hi."

"Is it true you're some kind of teenage Einstein?" Rita asked bluntly. Shannon nudged her.

"Don't embarrass her!"

"What?? Isn't that a good thing?"

"I am pretty smart, I suppose," Naomi interrupted. "I dunno about Einstein-smart…"

"Will you do- I mean, will you be able to help me with my math homework?" asked Sean slyly. The rest of the table cracked up.

"Sure- but I don't give out answers and I make you do the work yourself," Naomi retorted. The table laughed harder.

"Hey, Shannon, do you think you could pick me up from school tomorrow? My mom has to go to work early and I am not about to ride that school bus," said Kayla, shuddering. "I heard some of the juniors tried to hijack it last year."

Shannon cracked up. "Sure, Kayla." She glanced at Naomi. "What's wrong?"

"I ride the school bus," she said calmly.

"I'm so sorry," said Rita. Sarah giggled.

"Where do you live?" Jake asked. Naomi told them.

"Oh that's right on my way! I can ask my mom to pick you up too, if you want," Shannon offered brightly. Sarah frowned slightly but said nothing.

"That'd be cool," said Naomi, grinning. Shannon grinned back. Sarah decided it was time to change the subject.

"Who heard about the Miley Cyrus contest??"

The whole table groaned.


	3. The Contest

**Chapter 3: The Contest**

_The last time I freaked out, I just kept looking down, I st-st-stuttered when you asked me what I'm thinking 'bout…_

Sarah jumped up from her desk where her mom thought she was doing homework but she was really chatting it up on the IMDb message boards, and snatched her ringing phone, complete with Miley Cyrus ringtone, up from where she had tossed it on her bed.

"Hello?"

"Hey you," Shannon's cheerful voice floated over the line.

"Oh. Hey, Shan," Sarah said, flopping onto her bed and pushing some of the textbooks she had dumped on there after school onto the floor. "What's up?"

"Not much. It wasn't a bad first day, huh? That new girl Naomi, she seems pretty cool. We have Chem together too. She's so freakin' smart it's ridiculous. What do you think?"

Sarah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "She's okay," was all she said.

The line was silent for a moment. "Are you okay, Sar? You only talked at a 500 word-per-minute speed in sixth period. That's pretty slow, for you."

"Very funny! I'm fine. I'm just… Thinking about the contest tomorrow morning," Sarah blurted out.

To her relief, Shannon laughed. "Can you say OBSESSED?"

"Obsessed!" Sarah said, grinning. "Come on, you have to admit this is the chance of a LIFETIME! What if it's my big break? And even if it's not- I GET TO MEET MILEY CYRUS! Hello, this is a major big deal we're talking about here? Do you think she'd get me to be an extra on Hannah Montana? And what if she introduces me to all her celebrity friends??" Sarah was starting to bounce up and down in excitement. "Maybe I should start looking for an agent or something-"

Shannon was laughing again. "Slow down, girlfriend! You haven't even won the contest yet. Do you know how many people are going to be trying to win the same thing you are?"

"Hey, hey, I have a great feeling about this! I am going to meet Miley Ray Cyrus!"

"Okay, sweetie," Shannon chuckled. "In that case, you know the rules…"

"Uh, what rules?"

"Number one- You HAVE to take me with you! And number two- You must subject yourself to a full-fledged ass-kicking if you don't follow rule number one!"

Sarah cracked up. "Violent much?"

"Only sometimes," Shannon laughed. "Hey, I gotta go, my dad's car just pulled into the drive, you know how he is. I better get off the phone and start doing that reading that Ms. McClarkin assigned- Can you believe she gave us a story AND questions to answer on the first day?"

"She's a hard-ass," Sarah agreed. "Text me if anything."

"Sure thing, babe," Shannon replied. "I love you like cooked food!"

Sarah burst out laughing. "Likewise, hon."

Sarah flipped her phone shut, rolled over onto a pillow, and grinned. Talking to Shannon always brightened her mood. Their moms had known each other since college, and they had been best friends since before they could remember- "Divas in diapers," was what Sarah's mom jokingly used to call them. She knew that they would always be best friends.

But she couldn't stop the nagging image of the new girl's face from floating into her head. She sighed, got up, and sat down at her desk to do work. So what if Shannon was picking Naomi up for school tomorrow? It didn't mean anything. Shannon was always ridiculously nice to everybody, but she was Sarah's best friend. And that was how it would stay.

--

"Come on, come on…" Sarah muttered, clutching her cell like it was her lifeline. She was staring at the radio in her mother's car with a determined expression. Her mother glanced at her.

"Are you okay? The radio's not going to pop out and run away if you don't look at it," her mother said, fighting down a smile. Sarah ignored her.

"You look like you're laying an egg or something," commented Sarah's little brother, Max. Sarah opened her mouth to retort, but just then-

"Aaaand for the moment you've all been waiting for! Who wants to meet- MILEY CYRUS!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Sarah screamed. Her mother jumped, and the car swerved slightly.

"SARAH SCOTT! How many times have I told you- you CAN'T SCREAM like that when I'm DRIVING!"

"Sorry, Mom!" Sarah chirped, flashing her mother her sweetest smile before focusing all her attention on the radio announcer.

"We're giving away an all-expense paid trip for you and SIX OF YOUR FRIENDS to California for a week, during which time you will not only MEET, but spend a WHOLE DAY with Miss Miley Cyrus herself!"

Sarah opened her mouth again, but quickly shut it as her mother shot her a look.

"All you have to do… Is be the 25th caller to reach our station! Get your phones ready!"

Sarah tightened her grip on the phone, making sure it was set to the correct number, and poised her finger over the Call button.

"We're starting… NOW!"

Sarah hit send, then crashed the phone against her ear.

"Dammit, it's BUSY!"

"Sarah Scott-"

"I'm sorry, Mom!" Sarah cried, as she hit redial and brought the phone to her ear again.

"It's RINGING!"

Someone picked up. "OH MY GOD!"

"Thank you for calling," said a smooth, automated female voice. "You are caller number 24. Please try again."

Sarah stared at the phone in disbelief. Just then, the announcer came back on the radio.

"Aaaand we have our 25th caller!" The guy cried. "What's your name, babe?"

"Umm, Hana," said a familiar voice. Sarah gasped.

"I KNOW her! She's a cheerleader at my school!"

"Well, congratulations, Miss Hana, you are caller number twenty-five!" Announcer guy yelled. Hana shrieked, and Sarah could hear another girl cheering in the background.

"That's probably her best friend, Holly. She doesn't even really LIKE Miley. I don't believe this," Sarah groaned, flinging her phone carelessly into her backpack and slumping down in her seat.

"So, I won a trip to Cali, right?" Hana said excitedly. The announcer guy chuckled.

"Well, I wish I could say yes…" He said mischievously. Sarah sat up straighter.

"Unfortunately there's a catch! You have to answer ONE trivia question about Miley!"

"Umm…" Hana sounded uncertain. "Okay, I guess."

"All right, Hana! You have ONE CHANCE to answer this! Tell me- what is Miley's favorite movie??"

"Oh come on!" Sarah called. "That's too easy!"

Hana didn't seem to think so. "Umm… Ahh…" She whispered something to Holly, who whispered back urgently. "Well, I guess it might be… High School Musical 2?"

Sarah gasped. "What the hell!"

"Ooh, I'm sorry Hana, that is incorrect. We'll still be sending you an autographed copy of the Meet Miley Cyrus CD, so don't feel too bad! As for all you listeners out there… You still have a chance to win it!"

Sarah screeched. "My phone… WHERE THE HELL IS MY PHONE?" She began frantically digging in her bag.

"Oooh she said HELL," Max said gleefully.

"So did you, you little-"

"Enough!" Their mother commanded, rolling her eyes.

"Get your phones ready…" The announcer said slowly, sounding entirely too excited about the way he was torturing his listeners.

"Found it!" Sarah held her phone up triumphantly and frantically scrolled through her contact list till she found the number for the radio station.

"GO!"

Sarah hit send, and pretty much smacked herself in the ear with her phone.

Brrring… Brring…

"Hello, you've reached WKFM, and the chance to MEET MILEY CYRUS!"

"OH MY GOD!" Sarah nearly dropped the phone in excitement.

"You're on the radio!" Her mother called out, grinning.

"Now, in order to meet her, you have to answer ONE-"

"MEEL STAGNOLIAS! I mean, Steel Magnolias! That's the answer, that's her favorite movie!" Sarah cried.

There was a short pause.

"Well, alrighty then!" Announcer guy cried. "We have ourselves a winner! You have won the opportunity to spend a week in California- and spend a day with Miley Cyrus in the flesh! Congratulations!"

Sarah shut her eyes, pinched herself, then opened them again.

"How old are you, Miss…"

"Sarah. I'm 15."

"Well, then this means you'll have to have some kind of adult chaperone, but don't worry, we'll be calling you back this evening with details! Congrats again, and say hi to Miley from all of us at WKFM!"

"Sure thing," Sarah said weakly. Shutting her phone, she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes again.

"You WON, Sarah! That's amazing!" Sarah's mom looked excited herself. "What did they say? When is the trip? All-expenses includes food, right? Sarah?"

"Just a minute, Mom," Sarah said quietly, eyes still closed. She was taking it all in.

Finally she opened her eyes.

"I'M GOING TO MEET MILEY CYRUS!!" She hooted in glee.

The car swerved again.


	4. I Dream of Cali, Or Make That WE

**Chapter Four: I Dream of Cali... Or Make That WE**

Sarah jumped out of her mother's car and raced toward the oak tree by the school. _The one day I have the most exciting news of my life, Shannon's not here early_, Sarah thought, shaking her head. Then she remembered that Shannon was supposed to be picking up Kayla and Naomi, which would explain why she wasn't there already. Even the thought of the new girl couldn't put a damper on Sarah's mood though.

Finally, Sarah spotted Shannon's mother's silver QX4 and started waving excitedly as Shannon stepped out, Naomi and Kayla in tow.

"Aww, I'm happy to see you too!"said Shannon, smiling widely.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you and all, but GUESS WHO WON THE CONTEST??"

"You won the radio contest?" Kayla asked in disbelief.

"You're not serious?" Shannon said, eyeing Sarah suspiciously.

"OF COURSE I AM!" Sarah shrieked, grabbing hold of Shannon and twirling her around until she laughed.

"Well, you DO remember the rules right?" Shannon asked, eyeing Sarah suspiciously.

"Of course! As a matter of fact, I get to bring six people!" Sarah yelled. "I absolutely cannot WAIT!"

Naomi was standing by quietly. "You're meeting Miley Cyrus?"

Sarah looked at Naomi. "That's right. Do you like her?"

Naomi half smiled. "She's okay. I don't dislike her, or anything."

"Who are you going to take?" Shannon interrupted before Sarah could say anything back.

"Well, you, of course, and-"

"Uh, ME?" Kayla butted in. "Hello? This is even better than sending a message to take to Joe- I could talk to him MYSELF!"

The girls laughed. "Are you sure you want to set Kayla loose in California, Sarah… It could be dangerous!" Shannon joked.

"Hey! You wanna take this outside?" Kayla said, putting on her tough face and taking a fighters' stance.

"Uh, we ARE outside," Naomi pointed out. The girls looked at each other and cracked up.

"Trust the genius to ruin my intimidating moment," Kayla said, winking at Naomi.

Naomi grinned. "What can I say, I live to burst people's bubbles."

Shannon and Kayla laughed as the warning bell rang. "Guess we better hit the road. See you at lunchtime, Kay the Wannabe Intimidator?" Shannon asked mischievously.

"You better believe it!" Kayla laughed, as she and the other girls made their way into the entrance hall and parted ways.

--

Sarah stared at her Lit book in English class, but she couldn't focus on the story. As fascinating as a short-story about human sacrifice was, she couldn't stop thinking about her upcoming trip to California and her day spent with Miley.

Suddenly, something landed on her desk. Sarah jumped, successfully managing to bang her knee against the desk. She kept her head down until Ms. McClarkin had lowered her suspicious gaze, and then opened the note that had scared her to wit's end.

The note was in Shannon's handwriting. _Soooo who are you gonna take??_

Sarah thought for a moment, then scribbled a note back.

_Well, you and Kayla, that's two, and I figured I'd bring Rita along, too, she'd probably kick my ass or something if I left her out… Who else?_

Sarah passed the note back to Shannon, who immediately wrote back. _Seany!_

_LOL of course. And I guess, we could always ask Jake if he wanted to go, I don't know if Sean would appreciate being the only boy… then again…_

_LOL, what guy wouldn't want to be surrounded by four sexy ladies such as ourselves? Hehe._

Sarah read Shannon's reply, hesitated, and then wrote back. _That's still only five people though. Who else??_

The answer came floating back onto her desk a minute later. _How about Naomi?_

Sarah looked at the new girl, who was engrossed in her writing assignment. _I don't know… We don't know her that well._

_Sooo this is the perfect opportunity to get to know her! She's really cool, she was talking to me and Kayla about how she's been to Korea. Aaaand she likes Jason Dolley! That'd be so cool if she could meet him because of US! …Well, mostly because of you._

_Well…_ Sarah looked at the eager smile on Shannon's face. _Alright. We can ask her too._

_SCORE! Cali here we COME!_

Sarah accidentally giggled out loud. Ms. McClarkin's head shot up. "Something amusing about an entire village stoning a woman to death, Miss Scott?"

"No, ma'am," Sarah said, lowering her head and pretending to focus on the story, which she thought was all too depressing for the second day of school. _Oh well,_ she thought. _Soon, I'll be carefree in Cali!_

--

Sarah, Shannon, Rita, and Kayla walked into the lunchroom together, laughing and joking. Naomi was already sitting at their table, as was Sean, who was half-heartedly poking something on his lunch tray.

"Sean… Why are those mashed potatoes blue?" Shannon asked, eyeing the tray in distaste.

"That's what I wanted to know. Apparently the lunch ladies were feeling festive and decide to have fun with food coloring on our lunches," Sean said, frowning.

"Oh, is THAT what happened? When I said 'What's WRONG with this crap?' Big Bertha over there just looked at me like I was something she had stepped in and told me to shut up and sit down," said Jake, dropping his tray onto the table and tilting his head at his lump of potatoes, which were a lovely shade of puce.

"I think yours just moved," Rita said to Sean, who glared at her.

"Forget the cafeteria food, guys, I have an announcement to make!" Sarah called out. "All eyes on me, please!"

Five pairs of eyes swiveled toward her, except Rita's, as she was too busy poking at Sean's food.

"Rita!"

"WHAT?" Rita asked, dropping the spork. "I'm listening!"

"Okay, so this morning was the radio con-"

"A-HEM."

Sarah turned to see two cheerleaders looking at her.

"Oh… Hey, Hana. Hey, Holly." Sarah smiled at them. "What's shaking?"

Hana's smile wasn't nearly as bright as Sarah's. "We heard you this morning. On the radio."

"Oh did you? Actually I was just about to tell my friends-"

"WE were supposed to win the trip to Cali!" said Hana huffily. "Just because they tricked us-"

"You won the radio contest?" said Sean, Jake, and Rita all at once.

"Umm… Yeah," said Sarah, disappointed that her grand announcement had sort of been ruined. She turned back to Hana. "I'm sorry, Hana, I really wanted this trip. Miley is my idol. I thought you two didn't even like her."

"She's okay," said Holly.

"I like her!" Hana said. "Besides, it's not just about meeting Miley, it's about spending a week in California!"

"Don't you two go skiing in the Alps every winter and vacationing in Fiji every summer? I mean, no offense, but you're kind of rich." Rita said.

"Why would I take offense to that? And that's not even the point!" Hana said loudly. One of the lunch monitors started making their way over.

"Come on, Hana, let's just go," Holly said quietly. Hana glared one last time before walking away. Holly hesitated.

"I'm really sorry about that. She's usually really nice… She just really wanted to win this contest," said Holly apologetically. "Congratulations, by the way, Sarah."

"Thanks," Sarah smiled, watching Holly hurry to catch up with Hana.

"That was kinda weird," said Kayla.

"Yeah, usually Hana's really nice, like Holly said," said Shannon curiously.

"I bet it's 'cause she has this huge crush on Nick Jonas. I sit next to her in Chem and her notebook is covered with stuff like "Nick J is off da chain!" and "The Future Mrs. Nicholas Jerry Jonas," said Rita, rolling her eyes and giggling. "She probably thought this was her chance to meet him."

"Sounds familiar," said Jake, grinning mischievously at Kayla.

"Leave me and Joe ALONE," Kayla yelled. The table laughed.

"Enough about everyone else! I won a trip to CALIFORNIA!" Sarah yelled. The table clapped and cheered.

"Are you going by yourself?" asked Sean, sounding hopeful. Sarah grinned.

"As a matter of fact… Yes. I am."

"Sarah!" Shannon laughed.

"Okay, okay, I'm just playing. Actually, I get to bring six friends. Which means…"

"We're going to CALI!" Jake hooted. A few girls from the next table over looked over in shock and jealousy.

"Me too?" Naomi asked.

Sarah looked at her and half-smiled. "Yes. You too."

Everyone started talking loudly in excitement, until a monitor came over and shushed them.

"Okay, there's still one catch though," said Sarah quietly. "We have to have a chaperone. Maybe two. I'm not sure."

The table groaned.

"My parents are out," said Shannon quietly.

"I know," said Sarah, smiling reassuringly at Shannon. "My mom might be able to do it. She's not completely embarrassing.

"My mom is pretty cool," said Jake.

"So's mine," said Rita.

"Umm, I'd rather not, my mom's too moany," said Sean, shaking his head.

"Kayla?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah, I could ask her."

"I'll ask my mom too," said Naomi. "She's like my best friend."

"Aww," said Shannon, smiling brightly. Everyone else laughed. Shannon thought everything was cute. Even snakes.

"Well, ask your parents and we'll decide ASAP," Sarah said. "We have to start planning! We're going to California! We're gonna be able to see the stars, and put our feet in the Pacific Ocean, and maybe learn how to surf and stay in a hotel and order room service and-"

"Slow down!" Shannon laughed.

"Yeah, and I thought that I talked fast!" Kayla laughed.

"You do!" said the entire table. Everyone started cracking up and talking about what might happen on the trip, while Sarah looked around in satisfaction. A whole week in California with her best friends. What could be better?


End file.
